“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” — John 10:27
There was a time when every major decision in my life required someone else’s opinion.
I was constantly looking to family, friends, mentors, and people whose wisdom I respected to help me determine what I should do next. I wanted reassurance. I wanted confirmation. I wanted someone to tell me I was making the right decision. If the people around me felt at peace about it, I moved forward with confidence. If they questioned it, I questioned it too.
Looking back, I don’t believe my greatest struggle was obedience.
My greatest struggle was intimacy.
I wanted God to direct my life, but I hadn’t yet learned to recognize His voice.
God graciously surrounded me with people who genuinely loved me and wanted the best for me. Their advice often came from a sincere place of wisdom and care, and I thank God for each of them. But somewhere along the way, I began depending on their discernment more than I depended on my own relationship with Christ.
Eventually, I found myself asking a question that changed everything:
Was I following what others believed was best for me, or was I following what God desired for me?
Those two things aren’t always the same.
I Had to Learn the Shepherd’s Voice
For years, I struggled to hear God.
I would hear people say, “The Lord told me…” or “I really feel God is leading me…” and I quietly wondered why hearing His voice seemed so natural for everyone else but felt so difficult for me.
Now I understand why.
I wasn’t struggling because God wasn’t speaking.
I was struggling because I didn’t know Him well enough to recognize His voice.
Jesus says in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Sheep recognize the shepherd because they spend time with him. They become familiar with his voice. They learn to trust where he leads.
That’s exactly what God was teaching me.
As my relationship with Christ deepened, His voice became easier to recognize. The more time I spent in His Word, the more I understood His heart. The more I prayed, the more I recognized His peace. The more I surrendered, the less I needed everyone else’s validation.
I wasn’t hearing a different God.
I was finally becoming familiar with my Shepherd.
Obedience Looks Different Than I Thought
For most of my life, I thought obedience meant sacrifice.
Now I see it as trust.
Obedience isn’t God taking something from me.
It’s God lovingly leading me into something better.
That truth has changed the way I live every part of my life.
It has changed how I pursue the purpose God has placed on my life. Instead of chasing opportunities that simply look successful, I want to follow the ones He has prepared for me.
It has changed how I love my husband. I’m learning that obedience sometimes looks like choosing humility over having the last word, extending grace when my flesh wants to defend itself, and remembering that my marriage is a reflection of Christ’s love.
It has changed how I parent my son. More than anything else, I want him to grow up recognizing God’s voice for himself. I can teach him values, discipline, and wisdom, but my greatest prayer is that he would develop a relationship with Jesus that is personal, genuine, and his own.
It has changed how I approach every ordinary day.
I’ve learned that following Jesus isn’t usually one dramatic decision.
It’s choosing to say “yes” to Him over and over again—in conversations, in relationships, in opportunities, in disappointments, and in the quiet moments that no one else sees.
The Greatest Victory of My Life
I still don’t have every answer.
There are still decisions that require faith. There are still moments when I don’t know what tomorrow holds.
But I no longer feel like I have to depend on everyone else’s ability to hear from God for me.
The greatest victory in my walk with Christ hasn’t been discovering my purpose.
It hasn’t been building a platform.
It hasn’t even been watching God answer prayers.
The greatest victory has been learning to recognize the voice of my Shepherd.
Knowing His voice has become my confidence in uncertainty, my peace in seasons of waiting, and one of the greatest joys of my life.
Because when I know His voice, I can walk into the unknown without fear.
I know the One who is leading me.
And I’ve discovered that there is no safer place to be than wherever obedience leads.
Reflection
Heavenly Father, thank You for patiently teaching me—and each of us—to recognize Your voice. Draw us into a deeper relationship with You so that our obedience flows from trust and love rather than fear or uncertainty. Help us to quiet every competing voice and faithfully follow wherever You lead. Give us the courage to say “yes” to You, knowing that Your plans are always good. May our lives reflect the peace and joy that come from walking closely with our Shepherd. In Jesus’ name, Amen.